Liam Lawson details mindset behind major Racing Bulls F1 challenge

Liam Lawson has addressed how he came to terms with extracting speed from his Racing Bulls car after a painful demotion from the front-running Red Bull squad.

Lawson commenced the season behind the wheel at Red Bull, having been chosen as Sergio Perez's successor at the end of 2024.

However, the New Zealander struggled for form across the opening rounds and was rapidly shifted back to the sister Racing Bulls team ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

Lawson had to wait some time until he got back into the top 10, with the return to points coming in Monaco.

The 23-year-old admitted he was not too worried about getting his point-scoring efforts up and running following his demotion.

"I think yes and no," Lawson exclusively told RacingNews365 when asked if he believed he would ever "click" with the Racing Bulls machine following his demotion. 

"I didn't think like that because in the car we have access to and can see everything, so although the results weren't coming, it had actually clicked quite early. 

"It was just that there were a lot of things in general which needed to go your way to have a result and a strong weekend, so it was about putting it all together.”

However, Lawson highlighted that his main concern following the demotion did not relate to speed, but rather the consistency.

After the car took a step forward in the mid-part of the campaign, Lawson enjoyed a more triumphant end to the year with various point-scoring results.

This included a career-best fifth place at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"It wasn't necessarily the speed we struggled with at the start; it was the consistency, it was putting together sessions and weekends, and obviously that came in Austria after we made a significant change,” Lawson said.

"But before that, I think it was already coming, so I was thinking more: 'This is extremely frustrating', but I know it was going to come eventually."

Lawson will remain with the Racing Bulls team in 2026, where he will be joined by rookie Arvid Lindblad.